Neurohypophysial Hormone Function and Receptors

9727915 Cornett家鸡（Gallus domesticus）是越来越重要的人类食物来源，也是美国农业经济的重要组成部分。畜牧业的一个重要目标是提供丰富而经济的食物供应。通过开发更好的方法来控制鸡的生长和繁殖过程，可以实现可观的经济效益。催产素是大脑中产生的一种重要的肽激素，可能是实现这一目标的核心。这种激素涉及许多功能，包括调节血压、水平衡和产卵。催产素被释放到血液中，通过与反应细胞表面的蛋白质受体结合，作用于靶器官（如血管、肾脏、壳腺和大脑）。这些受体帮助产生最终达到预期效果的信号（例如，通过刺激动脉收缩来升高血压，通过刺激肾脏来保持水分，或者通过刺激壳腺收缩来产卵）。不幸的是，在非哺乳动物脊椎动物中，人们对催产素与其受体之间的关系知之甚少。科内特医生会解决这个问题。利用多种分子技术，他将分离编码缩宫素受体的基因。从这些基因中，我们可以确定催产素受体的结构。然后，科内特博士将利用这些信息建立受体的功能特征。由缩宫素受体激活的细胞过程也将使用生理技术来确定。除了扩大我们对这一重要神经肽的作用和家鸡生理的认识和理解外，这项研究还有望提供有关编码后叶催产素受体的基因如何开启和关闭的新信息。因此，这一新知识可能会为如何操纵这种激素系统来提高鸡蛋和肉类的产量提供见解。

9727915 Cornett The domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus) is an increasingly important human food source and a significant segment of the agricultural economy of the United States. An important goal of animal agriculture is to provide an abundant and economical food supply. Substantial economic gain could be realized by developing better methods to control the growth and reproductive processes in chickens. Vasotocin is an important peptide hormone produced in the brain that may be central to attaining this goal This hormone is involved in a number of functions including the regulation of blood pressure, water balance, and egg-laying. Vasotocin is released into the blood stream and acts on target organs (e.g. blood vessels, kidney, shell gland and brain) by binding to protein receptors on the surface of responsive cells. These receptors, help produce signals which ultimately cause the desired effect (e.g., increased blood pressure by stimulating contraction of arteries, water retention by stimulating the kidneys, or the laying of eggs by stimulating contraction of the shell gland). Unfortunately, little is known about the relationship between vasotocin and its receptors in non-mammalian vertebrates. Dr. Cornett will remedy this problem. Using a variety of molecular techniques, he will isolate the genes that encode vasotocin receptors. From the genes, the structures of the vasotocin receptors will be determined. Dr. Cornett will then make use of this information to establish a functional characteristics of the receptors. The cellular processes that are activated by vasotocin receptors will be also be determined using physiological techniques. Besides expanding our knowledge and understanding of the action of this important neuropeptide and the physiology of the domestic chicken, this research promises to provide novel new information about how the genes encoding vasotocin receptors are turned on and off. It follows that this new knowledge may provide insight into how this hormone sy stem can be manipulated to improve egg and meat production.